Better That We Break
by lirial89
Summary: When Harry is attacked by Fenrir Greyback during the summer before sixth year he flees Britain for America. Eventually meeting his new family and getting involved in the conflict between the Lycans and Vampires... not to mention falling fot the leader of the Lycans. Slow build. ... very slow build
1. Chapter 1

**Better That We Break**

**Author: - **Lirial89

**Fandom: - **Harry Potter / Underworld

**Pairing: - **Harry/Lucien

**Rating: - **Mature

**Disclaimer: - **I own nothing, not the characters or the worlds they inhabit

**Warnings: - **

**Set: - **After Order of the Phoenix. Before the first Underworld movie. Set in 2013.

**Summery: - **When Harry is attacked by Fenrir Greyback during the summer before sixth year he flees Britain for America. Eventually meeting his new family and getting involved in the conflict between the Lycans and Vampires... not to mention falling fot the leader of the Lycans.

Slow build.

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**Chapter One – Trainwreck **

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_Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win._ ~Stephen King

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Harry lay back on his bed, staring silently up at the ceiling as he thought over the past year and what the coming year would bring. He thought about Sirius's death and his attempt at one of the Unforgiveables, he wondered why he'd reacted so badly to the death of a man he'd known of for a year and had spent a grand total of less than a month with. Why had he acted the way he had the year before? Baiting a teacher? Allowing himself to be tortured by her? Forming a club and calling it 'Dumbledore's Army'?

_He didn't even like the old bastard!_

Harry was a survivor first and foremost. He had let the whole 'Boy-Who-Lived' garbage get to him and alter the way he thought and acted. He was smart but he'd let Ron drag him down academically while Harry secretly studied other more interesting topics and spells. The more Harry thought about it the more he disliked the person Hogwarts had forced him to become.

He thought about his friends Ron and Hermione. Did he actually like them or was he just attached to them because they were the first people to like him? Ron was a fair weathered friend, possessive and isolating while at the same time he resented Harry for his fame and his money… not the Ron knew how much money he actually had but he did stand by Harry when it mattered most…

Hermione was bossy and controlling and smothering in her attention but she'd always stuck by him… Harry thought that maybe she'd been just as lonely as Harry had been before Hogwarts.

He found Ginny disturbing in general with the way she stared at him with hungry eyes like she wanted to eat him up and he got the idea that she and her shrieking banshee of a mother were sizing him up for wedding clothes.

He liked the twins, they were fun and for the most part good hearted. Blindingly clever and brilliant inventors.

He wished that he'd been closer to Neville over the last five years. Neville reminded Harry of himself before Hogwarts… of course Neville had grown into himself over the last year. Neville was stronger than Harry had thought, was loyal and honest which Harry had found was a rare thing.

Luna was brilliant and amazing and Harry thought that she might be some sort of seer, or maybe she just saw the world differently to the rest of them. Harry liked her easy going attitude and her honest, unflinching belief.

He thought about Sirius who had given him to Hagrid instead of owning up to his duty to Harry. Who had been arrested _three days_ after the death of Harry's parents, who had sort revenge over looking after his godson… twice. Sirius who had spent twelve years in what was the most horrific prison in the world when he was thrown in there without a trial. Who had tried to feed a hated classmate to a werewolf because Snape pissed him off. Who had been an unrepentant bully during his school years along with his father and Remus Lupin. Who despite all that had loved him.

Harry thought of Remus Lupin who had ignored Harry's existence for twelve years, who had taught Harry for nearly a year before admitting that he knew James Potter. Remus who hated himself for being a werewolf. Who taught at a school for children and then forgot his Wolfsbane potion, nearly killing them. Who blamed Harry for Sirius's death.

Harry was startled out of his thoughts when a large brown owl swooped through his open window landing next to Hedwig on her perch, Hedwig eyed it but didn't snap at the other bird which was a upgrade from how she usually acted with owls who came near him. Harry got off the bed and untied the envelope from the other owl's leg, he opened it and pulled out the note.

'_Mr. Harry Potter,_

_Considering the circumstances of your last summer and the attack upon you by two dementors as well as the acknowledged return of the Dark Lord and your status I feel as it would be best to give you unlimited wand rights for the summer._

_Good Luck,_

_Amelia Bones,_

_Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement'_

"Huh," Harry said quietly as he read it again, he looked at the owl that Madam Bones had sent. "Can you take a note back for me?" He asked and the owl bobbed it's head. He glanced at his watch 7:34am, Harry pulled out a piece of notepaper and quickly scribbled down a reply.

'_Dear Madam Bones,_

_Thankyou for your consideration, it is very much appreciated. _

_I'm sure Headmaster Dumbledore has already told you all of this already but given that the Minister Cornelius Fudge hid the return of Voldemort for a year before he was forced to acknowledge Voldemort's resurrection by his appearance in the Ministry of Magic…_

_So here it goes. _

_Before the night of the third task I had met Voldemort twice over my years at Hogwarts. The first year Voldemort was living in the back or Professor Quirrell's head, he was trying to steal the Philosophers Stone that Nicholas Flamel had asked Dumbledore to remove from Gringotts and look after at the school; that is why the third floor corridor was out of bounds in my first year if we – and I quote – __**'didn't want to die a most painful death'**_, _that's what Dumbledore told us at the opening feast that year. During the year Voldemort/Quirrell tried to kill me several times, let a troll into the castle during Halloween, was killing unicorns to drink their blood – which myself, Neville Longbottom, Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy discovered when we were sent into the Forbidden Forest for a detention late one night and ordered to find a dead unicorn – at the end of the year Voldemort made his bid for the Stone. _

_We tried to tell Professor McGonagall that the stone was in danger (we thought Snape was after it) but she didn't want to listen and threatened us with detention if we kept annoying her with our 'baseless' ideas. So that night myself, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger went to the third floor, unlocked the door with a simple 'alohamora' which held Fluffy the Cerberus (which we'd discovered earlier the year), a harp had put him to sleep and we jumped down the trapdoor. We fell on some Devil's Snare but luckily it was one of the first magical plants Hogwarts teaches us about in our first year, we burnt the plant and continued onto a room filled with flying keys, we grabbed the right one and opened the next door to a room that held a giant chess set and we had to play our way across. Ron got hurt badly enough to knock himself out here. Hermione and I finished the chess game and went into the next room which held a dead troll. The next room held a logic puzzle made of potions and poisons, Hermione figured it out but there was only enough left for one of us to go through the enchanted fire._

_On the other side of the flames was Voldemort/Quirrell. We talked, he threatened… and then he shoved me in front of the Mirror of Erised (which I had already seen during the Christmas holidays as I explored the castle. The Stone appeared in my pocket and Voldemort/Quirrell tried to kill me, he grabbed me and it hurt me but it made his hands blister so before he could go for his wand I grabbed his face and he burned up. I blacked out then and woke two days later in the hospital wing, Dumbledore told me that the Flamel's had let him destroy their Stone so it couldn't be used to bring Voldemort back._

_Second year Lucius Malfoy slipped the enchanted diary of Tom Marvelo Riddle also known as 'I am Lord Voldemort' – I think it's hysterical that the Pureblood fanatics are being led by a halfblood with a squib for a mother (Merope Gaunt) and a muggle for a father (Tom Riddle) – into Ginny Weasley's book supplies when we went school shopping that year. The Diary possessed Ginny over the year compelling her to kill the school roosters, paint nasty things on the walls, open the Chamber of Secrets and command the Basilisk to attack the students, several of which were petrified over the year. _

_At the end of the year Ron Weasley and I dragged Lockhart down to the Chamber of Secrets when a sign was painted on one of the walls '__**Her body will lay in the Chamber forever**__', he tried to obliviate us with Ron's wand which got broken earlier that year, the spell backfired, frying Lockhart and caused a tunnel collapse. I was on one side of the collapse, Ron and Lockhart on the other side. I continued on and found Ginny laying unconscious on the ground and a teenage boy standing over her._

_He told me he was Tom Riddle, wrote his name in glowing letters and then he waved my wand and they rearranged to form the words '__**I am Lord Voldemort**__'. He told me that he'd created the diary when he was sixteen and that the memory of himself that he'd put into the diary was gaining form and power from Ginny's lifeforce. He called the basilisk to himself and told it to attack me. Fawkes appeared and dropped the sorting hat onto my head and then clawed out the basilisk's eyes out, Gryffindor's sword appeared in the hat and after a terrifying chase I managed to stab the sword through the roof of it's mouth, killing it but not before one of the fangs pierced my arm. Voldemort gloated about my impending death and I figured that if I was going to die I'd take him out with me. I pulled the fang out of my arm and stabbed it into the diary. The bond between him and Ginny broke and she woke up when his constructed body exploded. _

_Third year didn't have Voldemort but we did discover Peter Pettigrew was alive and had been living as first Percy Weasley's pet rat and then Ron's for twelve years he was the one who betrayed my parents to Voldemort and killed the thirteen muggles that Sirius Black was blamed for. Also did you know that Sirius Black never got a trial? He was just thrown in prison for 12 year with the dementors…_

_Fourth year I was entered into the Triwizard Tournament by Bartimus Crouch Junior who was pretending to be Alistair Moody all year. At the final task Cedric Diggory and I made it to the cup at roughly at same time, we decided that a joint win for Hogwarts was better than either of us winning it alone. We took the cup together but it was a portkey that took us to a graveyard._

_Pettigrew killed Cedric and bound me to a gravestone, he performed a ritual, Voldemort got his body back and called his Deatheaters to him. …I'm sorry I can't bring myself to write about this but I'll send you all the relevant memories for you to see the truth._

_Fifth year Minister Fudge assigned Umbridge to Hogwarts and she spent her time refuting that Voldemort was back and torturing us. I'll send you the memories for this too._

_Thankyou for the wand rights Madam Bones, I'm truly grateful for it but given that Voldemort is back and hates Muggleborns maybe you should consider giving all muggleborns a chance to defend themselves? Just a thought._

_And may I suggest a couple of questions to ask captured Deatheaters under veritaserum? – Did you take the Dark Mark willingly? Is it possible to receive the Dark Mark while under the Imperious? What did you have to do to receive the Dark Mark? What crimes have you committed? Who else do you know that is a Deatheater? Do you know the location of any Deatheaters or safehouses?_

_I know you probably already ask these questions but it doesn't hurt to check._

_Thankyou again Madam Bones,_

_Harry J. Potter'_

Harry pulled out a couple of empty potion vials and put them on his desk, he grabbed his wand from his bedside table and put it to his temple, concentrating on specific memories Harry extracted copies and placed them in the vials in order of first to last. Harry labelled the vials with a permanent marker, he spelled them unbreakable and tucked them into a drawstring pouch before tying it and the letter to the owl's leg. Harry watched it fly off as he petted Hedwig gently, he shook his head after a moment and turned away from the window to get dressed, Harry pulled on a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt before shoving his feet into socks and shoes. He slipped his wand holster onto his forearm and watched as it shimmered before going invisible and slid his wallet into his back pocket. Harry grabbed his novel and headed out of his room, he quietly went down the stairs and after grabbing a couple of apples from the kitchen Harry left the house.

He ignored the faint shimmer in the air that told him someone was waiting on the edge of the property disillusioned and walked passed them as he headed to the park, Harry didn't have much respect for the 'Order of the Phoenix' and it's total worship of Dumbledore. Harry was three meters passed the guard when he shed his spell and was revealed to be Remus Lupin.

"Harry," He said with disapproval and reproach dripping from his tone, Harry rolled his eyes before he turned around to look at the werewolf with a raised eyebrow. "Professor Dumbledore asked you to stay on the property,"

Harry thought about his answer before deciding he didn't care what Remus thought of him anymore, it was a freeing feeling. "I don't care," He said flatly. "I'm going to the park, I'm going to read my book and eat my apples. The wards around that house - according to Dumbledore - cover the neighbourhood so according to him I'm perfectly safe if I'm at the park,"

Remus frowned at him and Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes again. "Harry, I have to insist that you go back inside-."

"No," Harry snapped and kept walking, ignoring the sound of Remus's footsteps behind him.

"Harry, I understand that you're upset about Sirius's death and that you blame yoursel-." Harry cut him off.

"No, I don't blame myself," He corrected him, not turning around. "I told Snape, I tried to contact Sirius through the floo but that damned house elf lied to me, I thought he was being tortured by Voldemort, I was going to go alone but my friends insisted on following me. Not my fault, I did my best,"

Harry could feel his glare against his back and ignored him for the rest of the walk. Five minutes later Harry was taking a seat on one of the benches there. He continued to ignore his father's friends as he started to read.

Twenty minutes later Harry was seized from behind and wrenched out of his seat, he yelped as he was yanked against a broad chest, clawed hands holding him tight.

"Greyback!" Remus snarled as he leapt backwards, wand clutched in his hand and he stared at the other man in loathing.

"Hello Cub, I have to thank you for this," He said, voice dark and gravelly. "I never would have found the boy if not for you, tracking you has always been _so_ easy," Greyback grinned maliciously at Remus from his position behind Harry. "Think of this as a gift Remus, a wolf for your depleted pack," He growled mockingly and his partially shifted jaw locked on to Harry's shoulder, digging past his thin t-shirt and into flesh and muscle, the infection that was lycanthropy taking hold immediately.

Harry cried out in shock and pain and when Greyback shoved him away the teen fell to the ground next to where his book had fallen. "There, a wolf to replace the dog!" He laughed and with all his attention on Remus, Harry released his wand, raised it and pointed it at the man who had bitten him and whispered with all his hatred 'Reducto!' and watched with numb satisfaction as Greyback's head disintegrated in a shower of red mist.

Harry painfully got to his feet and ran his wand over his shoulder as he murmured healing and blood clotting spells, a few more spells had his t-shirt repaired and the blood vanished, another wave of his wand and he transfigured Greyback's body into a stick. After all that he steeled his courage and looked to where Remus was standing in stunned horror, the disgust and something that was close to hatred in the older man's eyes as he met Harry's made him flinch and when Remus took a step back and shook his head Harry forced his pain down and glared at his father's old friend.

"You were my father's friend, you abandoned me for twelve years after he died, you were too much of a coward to stand up for me or my rights, you hate yourself for being a werewolf," He said flatly and took dark satisfaction in Remus Lupin's flinch, he bent to pick up his book and straightened, looking his old teacher in the eye. "I think my dad would be ashamed of you. I don't need you and I won't hate myself," And with that Harry apparated back to his room at the Dursley's.

"Boy! What was that noise?!" Petunia screeched from the bottom of the stairs.

"I fell Aunt Petunia," He called back as he hastily stuffed his things into his bottomless backpack, sorting them as he went. Yes to his new clothes and shoes, no to Dudley's old ones; yes to his text books and other magic books, no to his essay's and Lockhart's self-promoters; yes to his chess set, invisibility cloak and the Marauder's map, no to his Weasley jumpers and the other junk he'd picked up over the years. He closed his eyes briefly and rubbed a hand over where he'd been bitten not fifteen minutes before. A werewolf, he was a werewolf now…

Harry got to his knees and reached under the wardrobe to pull out his smaller bottomless bag which was filled with all the books he'd copied or stolen from the Black Library and the ones previously in his vaults along with his family heirlooms and magical treasures and the stacks of muggle money he'd exchanged over the last couple of years and shoved it in one of the pockets of the other one bag, after a brief hesitation he grabbed his blankets and pillow off the bed and shoved them in his bag.

He paused and looked at Hedwig who was watching him with concern. "I don't know where I'll end up but you're welcome to come with me if you want or you can be free," Harry offered his closest friend who barked reproachfully at him and started to _shift_. Her snowy white feathers turned pitch black with a glossy finish and her form thinned and stretched until she was in the form of a Raven. Harry blinked at her silently for a moment before shaking his head. "Right… ok you're a raven now… as long as you're happy," Harry looked in the mirror and quickly spelled his hair a dark blond, a mild glamour took care of his scar and no one had seen his new glasses so as long as no one was looking closely at him he'd pass by unrecognised as 'Harry Potter'. "I'm going to apparate to Diagon Alley, can you came with me or do want to meet me later tonight?" He asked Hedwig who tilted her head and cawed quietly before launching herself at Harry, landing on his shoulder and dragged her beak through his messy hair briefly, Harry smiled. "Ok, hold on tight," He warned and with a much quieter pop than he arrived with he disappeared from Privet Drive for the last time.

They appeared in the designated apparation point and with purposeful strides Harry made his way to the bank, Hedwig flying off his shoulder as he got to the steps leading up to the bank, he watched as she landed safely on the awning of one of the shops before he headed up the stairs and nodded to the two armed guards. He took his place in line and waited quietly for his turn at a counter, Harry swayed slightly as he waited, the shock and blood loss catching up to him steadily.

Harry shook his head firmly to clear his mind of the fog that was clouding his mind, he stepped forward and put his key on the teller's counter. The goblin looked at it and back at Harry, sharp eyes seeing through his glamour. "Visiting your vault or your manager?" Said the teller passing the key back to Harry who slipped it into his pocket.

"Manager please," Harry said politely, the summer of his third year had been very productive. He was led down familiar hallways until he was ushered into his account manager's office. "Account Manager Orac," Harry said with a small smile and a bow of his head.

"What can I do for you Mr Potter?" Orac said baring his teeth in a smile.

"I was bitten by a werewolf about thirty minutes ago," Harry told him frankly, Gringotts took confidentiality seriously and Harry had a good working relationship with his account manager.

Orac sat forward in his seat. "I see, what can I do to help?"

"The Ministry has seized the accounts of werewolves before so I'm sorry to say but I need to withdraw all my funds from all my accounts with Gringotts, I want the galleons transferred into British pounds please," Harry took a shaky breath and continued. "I'd like to return all the goblin made items in my vaults to Gringotts in return I'd like you to destroy any and all curses on the items in the vaults before selling the items, all proceeds to go to St Mungo's and the Wizarding orphanage," Orac was making notes as Harry spoke. "As a werewolf cannot own property I'd like for you to organise the sale of all properties I own on the open market, Gringotts will get twenty percent of the profits of each property, the rest to be split between St Mungo's and the orphanage again, any books in the properties are to be sent to me and the rest of the contents sold with the profits to the orphanage." Harry rubbed a slightly shaking hand through his hair and sighed. "My stock in the Daily Prophet is to go to Hermione Granger, the shares in the Chuddley Cannons are to go to Ronald Weasley, the shares in Zonko's and Weasley Wizarding Wheezes to go to the Weasley twins Fred and George, the shares in the Magical Menagerie go to Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom gets my shares in Magical Herbs and Fungi, the rest can be sold and then the profits given to the orphanage,"

Orac finished writing that down and eyed Harry thoughtfully before he pressed a rune on the desk and spoke into a clear, round crystal in Gobbledygook. "I have one of the younger goblins exchanging your money for you." He said calmly and gave Harry a deep head bow. "We thank you for your return of our heirlooms, in the spirit they were returned in may I offer Gringotts' mail service? Mail wards will be placed on you and all mail sent to you will be rerouted here, I will give you a mailbox to take with you, it works like a two way box. You place a letter in the box and it will be sent here, we then send it on to it's destination; the letter sent to you will arrive here we'll check them for poisons, potions, curses, hexes, tracking charms and portkeys, we also strip them of these and send you an analysis of what was sent,"

Harry raised his eyebrows at the offer. "And how much will this service cost?" Harry asked, whatever they wanted he'd pay, he couldn't afford not to.

"Nothing," Orac told him with a sharp smile. "For the next thirty years this service is free because of your generosity,"

"I… thankyou," Harry said after a moment. "I'd like that very much," Orac stood from behind his desk and walked over to a gold and crystal cabinet and opened one of the doors pulling out two wooden boxes edged in gold and silver runes with a large golden, ornate and capital G in the centre of the lid.

"Three drops of blood on each 'G'," Orac instructed as he put the boxes on the desk and passed Harry a long thin needle, Harry pricked his finger and squeezed the required number drops onto each box. Orac put a drop on his blood onto them as well and the runes flashed brightly, Orac pushed one of the boxes over to Harry who slipped it into his bag. "Do you know where you're going?" He asked the sixteen year old.

Harry shrugged. "Australia, America, Canada… they allow werewolves to immigrate and the laws aren't as… restrictive and I don't have to learn a new language, I just have to get to one of them before everyone finds out that I got bitten,"

Orac nodded his understanding and wrote something on a spare piece of paper and handed it to Harry. "The address of the American Consul and the name of the Magical Ambassador there," A knock on the door interrupted them and a goblin opened the door and quietly walked over to the desk, he put down a small moleskin pouch on the desk and a sheet of parchment, he bowed quickly and exited the office. Orac picked up the parchment and looked it over. "Your accounts with us are now closed," He passed Harry the parchment and the teen looked it over and choked on his tongue at the figure written on the parchment. Orac chuckled at Harry's expression. "Well no matter what comes next you are financially secure,"

Harry cleared his throat. "Yes…" He said faintly. "There is that," He shook his head firmly and tore his eyes off the startling figure on the parchment, looking back at the goblin. "Thankyou for all the help you've given me," Harry told him with audible gratitude.

"You're welcome Mr Potter," Orac reached over to shake Harry's hand. "May you prosper and may your enemies suffer,"

"May your gold grow," Harry returned before tucking the moleskin bag and parchment into his backpack, swinging it over his shoulder and exiting the office and Gringotts. As he headed down the steps to get to ground level Hedwig swooped down and landed firmly on his left shoulder. "Can you meet me at…" Harry glanced at the address and rattled it off the Hedwig. "I need to talk to someone there and walking around the muggle world with a raven will get me noticed," Hedwig bobbed her head and nibbled Harry's hair before launching herself up and flying away. "God I love that bird," He murmured to himself as he made his way down the alley, forcing himself to ignore Moody and Kingsley as they made their way to the bank, he noted that they looked worried and annoyed and he quickly slipped through the Leaky Cauldron and out into the street.

It didn't take long for him to hail a taxi and give him the address to the embassy, Harry closed his eyes and concentrated on not shaking apart as the cabbie drove him through the busy streets. "We're here kid," He said after an indeterminable amount of time and Harry started out of his doze. "It'll be twenty pounds," Harry passed him the money and climbed out, he could see his reflection in the glass and noted that his hair was black again. He rubbed over his shoulder where he could still feel Greyback's teeth in him and eyed the imposing building for a moment before he took a deep breath and walked into the lobby of the building.

"Can I help you?" The young woman behind the reception desk asked politely and Harry gave her a strained smile.

"Yes, is Ryan Kennerly available to meet me?" Harry asked politely and she studied him curiously.

"I'll check, who do I tell him is asking?"

"Harry Potter,"

Harry glanced around the tasteful lobby as the receptionist pressed the numbers required to get his extension. "Mr Kennerly? This is Julia at reception, I've got a young man who would like to see you, his name is Harry Potter," There was a pause before she spoke again. "Mr Kennerly? Are you still there? … Yes sir, I'll bring him up," She hung up the phone and looked at Harry. "If you'll follow me Mr Potter?"

Julia led Harry up the staircase two levels and down a hall she tapped on a door and it opened to show a handsome man who looked to be in his late forties with dark hair speckled with silver, he gave Harry a genuinely pleased smile. "Mr Potter, it's a pleasure to meet you," He shook Harry's hand and ushered him into the spacious office, he looked at Julia. "Would you be a dear and organise a refreshment tray for us? Coffee for me and Mr Potter?"

"Oh, um, orange juice if you have it," Harry requested and once she was gone Ryan smiled at him again and shook Harry's hand again. "Thankyou for meeting me at such short notice,"

The ambassador showed him over to one of the comfortable couches and sat across from the teen. "It's my pleasure to see you Mr Potter,"

"Harry," He corrected. "I'm just Harry," Ryan gave him a pleased smile.

"Then you must call me Ryan," They exchanged small talk before Julia returned carrying a tray with a mug, a glass, a plate of cookies and a plate of sandwich triangles. "Now what brings you all this way without a minder?" Harry didn't take insult at the minder comment, he'd been lucky to escape Privet Drive without being stopped.

Harry put his glass down and rubbed a hand through his hair with a sigh. "About an hour ago I was bitten by the werewolf Fenir Greyback," He said quietly and dropped his hands to his knees.

"Ah," Said Ryan quietly and stood, he made his way around the small table and sat next to Harry and after the briefest of hesitations he wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulder, pulling the teen into his side. "You need to escape Britain," He concluded and politely ignored the tears that escaped Harry's eyes and the shaking of his slight body. Ryan just held Harry until his shaking subsided before passing him a tissue. "We quite regularly help werewolves to escape the oppressive laws here," He smiled gently at Harry. "You will not be a problem,"

"Thankyou," Harry whispered, the relief making him weak.

"Does anyone know about you being bitten?"

"Uh, two people, Remus Lupin, he's Dumbledore's pet werewolf and my – former account manager at Gringotts,"

"You mean three – including Greyback," Ryan corrected and Harry shook his head and looked away.

"No, he's dead, while he was taunting Lupin I managed to get my wand out and I sent a reducto at his head,"

Ryan blinked at that before smiling sadly. "Good work Harry," Harry looked at him with wide startled eyes. "Greyback was a monster, he regularly attacked and infected children, it's a shame that you were forced to take a life but not that he's dead,"

"Oh…" Harry murmured.

"Now, let's get one of the doctors in here to make sure you're ok,"

Harry smiled with reluctant, bitter twist of his lips. "Apart from now being a werewolf," Harry said and Ryan squeezed Harry's shoulders again before sending off a text message on his phone.

"I've got a few questions I need to ask before I can process your new citizenship," Harry swallowed through his tight throat and nodded. "I assume you want to be emancipated?"

"Yeah,"

"What about money? Are you financially stable?"

Harry nodded and bent down to get the parchment from Gringotts out of his bag. "I emptied my accounts at Gringotts before I came here," He passed over the parchment and watched Ryan choke on the sip of coffee he'd taken. "Yeah, that was my response, my account manager is excellent at investing."

Ryan nodded dumbly. "How do you know this is his doing?"

"Oh I gave him control of one of the larger accounts I had and told him that he could take ten percent of any profit he made off the gold," Ryan blinked at him and Harry shrugged. "In three years he increased it by at least seven times,"

Ryan laughed appreciatively. "What's his name? I'll have to ask him to manage some of my money,"

"Orac, Account Manager Orac, he's really good if he likes you," Harry promised.

A knock sounded on the door and Ryan called for them to enter, a man maybe a few years younger than Ryan walked in carrying a leather doctor's bag. "Ah, Harry this is Doctor Michael Straun, he'll be the one examining you. Mike this is Harry Potter he's seeking asylum with us,"

The doctor shook Harry's hand and gave him a reassuring smile. "Nice to meet you Harry, would you like to do this privately?" He offered and Harry shook his head, he was just tired and scared. "Very well, a few diagnosis charms and then we'll proceed," A few minutes later he looked away from his scans to Harry his gave neutral. "My sympathies, I can confirm that the lycanthropy has taken hold, you'll start getting flashes of the life of the one who bit you and on the next full moon you'll shift," He murmured and fished around in his medical bag pulling out two vials of a clear reddish brown colour. "Blood replenisher potions," Dr Straun clarified and with a wince Harry drank them both down, like most potions they tasted terrible. "Also these three… and this one," He instructed and Harry tossed them back one by one until they were gone and then took a mouthful of his orange juice to wash the taste out of his mouth. "You were the one to repair your shoulder?"

"Yeah, I get hurt a lot at school so I've been learning what I could teach myself about healing," Harry explained and Dr Straun nodded in understanding.

"You did a good job for someone self trained, you should consider becoming a doctor," Dr Straun praised and Harry blushed lightly. "I think that's all the good I can do you at the moment, take care of yourself," And with that he left Harry blinked after him and rubbed the back of his neck.

Ryan clapped his hands together drawing Harry's attention. "Now that that's done, a few more questions, did you want to change your name?"

Harry nodded. "It's highly likely that someone will be sent to track me down, why make it easy for them,"

"Good, any idea what you want to change your name to?"

"Um, I'd like to keep Harry, well Harrison actually – for a middle name… Daniel and what are the most common last names in America?"

Ryan thought about it before rattling off a string of names. "Jones, Smith, Lewis, Scott, Higgins, Taylor…" He offered and Harry thought about it.

"Jones," Harry said after a minute. "Jones will work,"

"And a new birthdate?"

"Um, would August or September be better?"

Ryan's head tilted as he thought it over. "I like September better,"

"Right," Harry nodded. "September… tenth 1997," Ryan wrote it on the form that he'd started filling out while Harry was being examined.

Ryan rested a hand on Harry's shoulder. "I'll get the forms processed today and we'll have you out of the country by tomorrow," He turned to one of the bookshelves that Harry could feel magic on and pulled off several book, which were instantly replaced by new copies, he passed them to Harry who looked at the titles – **Magical Law, North America, Werewolf Edition**; _Magical Law, North America, General Edition_; **Magical Directory – North America 2013**; _Safe Grounds, A Guide Of Safe Places – Werewolf Edition_; **Magical Education Guidelines – North America Edition 2013**. "These will help you settle in, I suggest tutors instead of a school, it will be harder for you to be tracked that way," Ryan told him and Harry nodded. "Come with me, we'll get you set up in a room for tonight," Harry followed him out of the office and into a luxurious room with an ensuite, Harry spent the rest of the day reading the books he'd been given.


	2. Chapter 2 - Sparks Fly

**Chapter Two – Sparks Fly**

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"Mere animals couldn't possibly manage to act like this. You need to be a human being to be really stupid."  
― Terry Pratchett, _Pyramids_

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Lupin stared at the empty spot where Harry had been standing only minutes ago and felt the words the teen had spoken cut him in a hundred different ways. Harry was right, James would have been ashamed of him. Lupin shook his head firmly and closed his eyes briefly; Dumbledore would need to know about this. The Headmaster would know what to do.

And with that thought echoing through his head Lupin picked up the stick that used to be Greyback and apparated to Hogsmeade, he rushed through the gates of Hogwarts and up the long path that would lead him to the doors of the castle. Even running it still took ten minutes for him to reach the castle doors, it took another ten to navigate the castle and its moving stairs to get to Dumbledore's office, another three to guess the right password.

Lupin rushed up the stairs two at a time and burst into the large circular without knocking, Dumbledore gave him a reproachful look at the unannounced invasion of his space. "Remus what-." He started to say with a frown.

"Harry was bitten by Greyback about thirty minutes ago!" Remus interrupted loudly, Dumbledore sat frozen for a second in shock before shoving back from his desk and standing up with a thunderous look.

"Where is he now?" The old wizard demanded as he stalked over to check on the few whirling silver trinkets that had survived Harry's rage at the end of the school year, unfortunately for Dumbledore none of the ones left were tracking devices, not that they would have worked anyway, seeing as being changed into either a vampire or werewolf changed a person's magical signature fundamentally.

Remus shook his head. "I don't know, after he killed Greyback he apparated away and thought that it would be better if I told you what happened," He rubbed a sheepish hand over the back of his neck. "I'm not good at tracking…"

Dumbledore turned to where Fawkes was watching them from his perch. "Fawkes, find Harry and bring him to me!" He demanded and watched the phoenix disappear into a ball of flame before throwing a handful of floo powder into the fireplace. "12 Grimmauld Place," He snapped and stepped through, Lupin following on his heels.

They stepped out of the fireplace in the kitchen of what was formally Black Manor to find three Order members sitting at the table talking. "Albus? What's wrong?" Asked Alistair 'Madeye' Moody asked with a horrific frown, Kingsley Shackbolt and Hester Jones pausing their conversation to stare at their leader.

"I'm afraid that Harry Potter was bitten by the werewolf Fenrir Greyback thirty minutes ago," Stunned silence. "Hester, Kingsley I need you to go to Privet Drive and if Harry is there retrieve him and bring him here, Alistair, Remus will show you where he was attacked – find him," The old wizard ordered and the two groups disapparated. "This is a disaster!" Dumbledore snarled as he threw a mug at one of the walls watching it smash with satisfaction. "Harry Potter can't become a filthy werewolf!"

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Fawkes appeared with a small burst of flame above Gringotts and flew unerring over to where Hedwig was perched on the awning of a nearby shop. "The old wizard wants me to find your boy and return him to the old wizard," Fawkes told Hedwig who gave the bird equivalent of a sneer.

"The old meddler can go get eaten by a large feline," She said firmly, black feathers gleaming in the sun. "My boy isn't going anywhere near the old wizard again."

Fawkes nodded his understanding. "I thought that was the case but I had to ask," They watched the wizards on the street walk by unaware of the two powerful creatures above them. "The old one's pet wolf/wizard said that your boy had become one? Does that change your discission to stay with him?"

Hedwig eyed the older bird thoughtfully before shaking her head. "He is my boy, I chose him when he was just a nestling and I'll keep him until we no longer want each other," She paused and added. "He told me what had happened, offered me my 'freedom' because he was worried he couldn't take care of me… he's a good boy and he's mine,"

"Mine was good once," Fawkes said sadly. "Now he is not,"

"When you get tired of waiting for the old one to be good again, my boy will accept your presence," Hedwig told him. "You will be welcome with us, where ever we might be,"

"Thankyou," Fawkes said quietly. "…For now though I will keep watch over the old wizard and keep you informed of his actions,"

"Your assistance is appreciated," Hedwig informed him, Fawkes bowed to her lightly and disappeared in another small ball of flame.

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Moody followed Lupin's apparation signature to a small rundown park. "This is where the boy was attacked?" He asked gruffly looking around.

Lupin nodded and pointed to one of the picnic tables. "That's where he was sitting," Moody nodded and cast a spell that would help him see into the past, he watched the confrontation between Greyback, Lupin and the Potter boy and agreed with Potter's parting words, was proud of the boy for killing the monster who had bitten him and so many other children.

He agreed with Greyback for blaming Lupin for the easy mark, with the boy for choosing to leave rather than stay with the werewolf next to him. "You're a fucking moron," Moody told Lupin sternly. "Leaving a trail for Greyback to follow, not making the kid stay at the Dursley's and when your sire shoved Potter down you had a open target! And you just stood there and forced a fifteen year old boy to become a murderer… you fucking moron," He said shaking his head. "No wonder the boy ran, he's got more smarts than you," With that he followed the apparation trail Potter had left behind and found himself in the boy's bedroom with Kingsley and Hester who were going through the things the boy had left behind. "Anything?" He asked gruffly, ignoring Lupin when he apparated next to him.

"He was gone before we got here," Hester told him shaking her head. "Most of his stuff is gone though,"

"Left everything with tracking charms behind," Kingsley added quietly.

Moody rubbed a hand across his face and sighed. "Right, Hester you question the aunt, Lupin go back to Headquarters and tell Dumbledore that Kingsley and I are tracking Potter," He instructed firmly. "Kingsley you're with me, follow my apparation trail," They arrived at the Diagon Alley apparation point and Moody swore under his breath. "Where do you think the boy-?"

"Gringotts," Kingsley replied with a nod to the large white building and Moody felt like swearing again.

"Right, let's go ask if they've seen him," He sighed and stomped his way to the stairs to the lobby of the bank passing a blond boy with glasses as they did but a Potter couldn't use magic during summers so it wasn't him. They made their way into the back and lined up to speak to a teller.

Ten minutes later the two were in front of one of the tellers. "What?" The goblin snarled.

"We're looking for Harry Potter, has he come in today?" Moody snarled back, he hated goblins.

The goblin sneered at them. "We don't discuss our customers without a court order,"

"Fine, I want to talk to Potter's account manager," He snapped back.

The goblin eyed him for a moment before pointing at the back wall. "Wait over there, we'll see if he wants to meet with you," They sneered at each other before Moody hobbled off, Kingsley following like a dark shadow. The teller beckoned a smaller goblin to him and spoke quietly. "Ask Account Manager Orac if he wants to speak to the two wizards, tell him that they're asking about Harry Potter… and take your time," He instructed.

Twenty minutes later the smaller goblin was back and made his way over to the two wizards. "Account Manager Orac refuses to see you," He said shortly and snickered quietly as he walked back to the other side of the counters.

Moody snarled and swore at the pointless delay, stomping out of the building as he cursed under his breath. Once he was on the steps he apparated to Grimmauld Place with a loud crack, Kingsley on his heels. The ex-auror limped his way into the kitchen, swearing all the way. "We tracked the boy to Diagon but lost his trail after that, the fucking goblins wouldn't answer any questions and the bite has made tracking him by anything but recent blood impossible, the boy's magical signature is unrecognisable now,"

"Damn it!" Snapped Dumbledore uncharacteristically. "We must find him!"

"Why don't we ask his friends?" Tonks suggested looking worried. "When I couldn't ask an adult for help I went to my friends," There was a pause as everyone looked at each other feeling stupid.

"Nymphadora, you go talk to Miss Granger," Dumbledore said finally. "Kingsley, go to the Weasley's, Alistair, go to the Longbottom's." He paused and looked over the few who were gathered together. "Hester, you go to the Lovegood's; find out what they know, if Harry had any hiding places or plans if something like this happened,"

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Tonks apparated into Hermione's backyard with a sharp crack, knocking on the back door hurriedly, finally the door opened to show Hermione dressed in casual clothes, she frowned at Tonks. "What's wrong?"

"Harry got bitten by a werewolf earlier today and then he ran off and we can't find him, do you know where he could have gone? Because we need to get him somewhere safe," She rushed out and Hermione stared at her in stunned horror.

"…I don't know," She said with concern. "I – Ron maybe? Or maybe he's heading to the Headquarters?"

"If you think of something – or hear from him let us know!" Tonks shouted and disapparated before Hermione could say anything else.

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Kingsley appeared with a crack and made his way up the long driveway with a sigh, he hadn't joined the Order of the Phoenix to go chasing after teenagers. He'd joined to fight Deatheaters… not that he'd gotten to do that apart from that night at the ministry. He sighed again; Potter had the right idea, if _he'd_ been bitten by a werewolf he'd have fled too. Kingsley made his unhurried way up to the stupid looking building, he wondered idly what would happen if he tossed a few 'finite's' at the ridiculous building, the tall man shook his head and braced himself for Molly's shrieking… the woman had to have some banshee in her family line.

With that in mind Kingsley squared his shoulders and knocked on the door, hiding his wince as he did. The door opened to show Molly who was drying off her hands with a tea towel. "Oh, Kingsley, come in," She smiled at him and he suppressed his shudder, the woman freaked him out. "What brings you here?"

"I need to speak to your children, Molly," Kingsley said trying to fend off the biscuits she shoved at him, finally taking one so he could get on with it. "Harry Potter was attacked by a werewolf about two hours ago,-" He ignored her shriek of horror even though it nearly deafened him. "I need to talk to your children to see if they know where he could have gone,"

"Ron! Ginny! Fred! George!" She _shrieked _and he winced, someone really needed to silence her. The four teens thundered down the stairs and were soon sitting at the table across from him.

They all babbled at him at once. "Quiet!" He snapped getting a headache. "Look, Harry Potter was bitten by a werewolf not long ago and now we can't find him. Do you know where he'd go?" When Molly gave another shrieking cry and he sighed and silenced her. "Any information you have would be appreciated," The kids exchanged looks and shrugged.

"If Harry has a safe house he hasn't told me," Ron said bluntly. "After my screw up in forth year Harry hasn't really trusted me with any secrets, not that I blame him," He shrugged. "I was a really bad friend and Harry doesn't trust easily,"

Ginny looked heartsick and shook her head. "Harry never told me either,"

"Us either," The twins shrugged together. "Darling Harrikins-"

"-Keeps his-"

"-Cards close to-"

"-His chest,"

Kingsley sighed again. "Right if you hear from him contact the Order immediately," And with that he left, leaving the four teens and their silenced mother behind, Kingsley sighed again and looked up at the blue sky. "I need a headache draft," He muttered and took his time popping back to Headquarters.

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Hester winced as she looked up at the building that looked like a chess piece. Why did she have to get the Lovegoods? The tall brunette winced and knocked on the circle shaped door.

The door opened and she found herself staring at the Lovegood daughter. "Hello, no Harry isn't here, no I don't know where he is, no he hasn't contacted me. But I respect my friends' privacy and I won't tell you if Harry does contact me. Goodbye," And with that the small blonde closed the door in her face.

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Moody stuck his head into the floo after tossing in some powder and calling out Augusta's floo address. "Oi, elf," He said gruffly as the house elf popped in front of him. "Tell your mistress that Moody wants to talk to her,"

It popped away and two minutes later she walked into the sitting room. "Alistair, what can I do for you?"

"Augusta, I need to speak to your grandson," He said bluntly and she scowled at him.

"Why?"

"Because his friend, Potter is missing and I need to know if he's seen or heard from the boy,"

Augusta studied him before nodding sharply. "I'll get him, wait here,"

A minute later she was back with Neville in tow. "You seen Potter today?" Moody asked tiredly.

Neville crossed his arms. "No, what's wrong with him?"

"He got bitten by a werewolf," He said flatly. "You get a letter from him?"

"No,"

"He ever tell you if he had a safe house or an escape plan?"

"No and if he did I wouldn't tell you, he's my friend and I keep his secrets," Neville said flatly. "If he never comes back I'd understand, first everyone loves him, then they hate him and it repeats! Harry as a werewolf would be dead within a month! If he contacts me I won't be telling you," And with that Neville turned and walked out of the room, his grandmother watching with pride.

"I stand by my grandson, Alistair. He's right, the way the public has treated the boy is disgusting," She told her old friend firmly. "Goodbye Alistair,"

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Snape sneered at the group of panicking wizards and witches, Potter does something smart for once in his life and they all panic. He hoped the boy ran far and fast before either side caught him and with a deeper sneer he sent out a prayer to whatever god was listening to see Lily's boy safe and away from either side, he wished the boy an anonymous and long life.

He hated the boy's father but Lily – Lily had been his friend and he had loved her with all his heart and he'd done his best to keep the boy as safe as he could but he'd never be able to keep the boy safe now, not when their whole world would turn against him.


	3. Chapter 3 - A New Day Has Come

**_Chapter Three – A New Day Has Come_**

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"It's not worth doing something unless someone, somewhere, would much rather you weren't doing it."  
― Terry Pratchett

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The next morning Harry woke at his usual early time despite how little sleep he'd gotten the night before and grabbed some clean clothes out of his bag before heading into the bathroom, he took a quick shower and pulled on his clothes. Harry could feel his heart thumping in his chest and he couldn't help his nervous pacing, eventually Harry forced his mind to calm and consciously slowed his heart-rate, taking deep slow breaths as he did.

When he was calm enough Harry pulled out his Magical Law – Werewolf edition book and opened it to where he left it the night before and kept reading it. He liked the way it was laid out, the laws simply defined and sensible, Harry had almost finished it when there was a knock on his door. Harry stood and made his way to the door, opening it to find the receptionist from yesterday, she smiled politely at him.

"Mr Potter? Mr Kennerly would like for you to have breakfast with him if that is agreeable to you?" She said, Harry nodded and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him.

"Of course," Harry agreed and followed her down the hallways to a small but elegant dining room where Ryan was waiting for him a generous selection of breakfast foods available.

Ryan smiled at Harry when he entered the room. "Did you sleep well?"

Harry shrugged and sat across from him. "As well as could be expected thank you, and yourself?"

"Well enough," They ate in companionable silence and when they finished Ryan passed Harry a clear plastic document folder. "Your new birth certificate, various forms of ID, passport, apparation licence, background information and emancipation documents," He told Harry. "I've kept your parents names as what they were except for the last name, remember its Jones now, they died in a car accident… well its all in the folder, if I were you I'd practice writing and signing your name," Harry nodded and resisted the urge to flick through the folder, he could do that later. "We have a private plane leaving today at one, you'll leave here in one of our cars at eleven, any questions?"

Harry blinked at him in silence before shaking his head. He cleared his throat. "No, I – thankyou for this,"

Ryan clapped his hand on Harry's shoulder and squeezed gently. "You'll be ok," He murmured and Harry closed his eyes. "You're a good boy," He said thoughtfully. "I'd have liked to have met you under better circumstances,"

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Harry looked out the window of the luxurious private plane and as it left the ground his heart lightened, Harry watched England fall away and let out a relieved sigh.

Freedom.

Harry thought about it as the plane flew through the air. He'd never been free before. There had always been the Dursley's keeping him beaten down, keeping him in his 'place' and then there was Hogwarts with the whole boy-who-lived garbage trapping him in the mould of the perfect Gryffindor and his friends keeping him as the ideal that they thought he should be.

No expectations. No one to live up to. No one expecting him to be like his dead parents. No fighting for a cause he didn't know anything about.

The only thing tying him down was his new citizenship and his (non-magical) oath of Allegiance.

Freedom.

Harry smiled quietly to himself.

He like freedom.

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Once they landed in Washington Harry was escorted to a hotel by a young agent with the Secret Service. "What's it like to be an agent?" Harry asked curiously as he dropped his backpack and fished out the bag with his money in it – Agent Simon Bell had orders to help Harry set up a bank account.

Simon shrugged. "I like it, having a purpose is nice – I mean I don't do much right now but eventually I'd like to get a chance to protect the President,"

Harry nodded thoughtfully and buckled himself into the car seat. "So you believe in the whole… truth, justice and the American way?"

The agent laughed. "Yeah, yeah I believe in truth, justice and the American way," He snickered a little. "What about you?"

"Oh, I've been a American citizen for about a day now, so ask me again in a year or two but I like the idea," Harry told him, the rest of the drive was filled with quiet small talk. "So why this bank?" Harry asked as they pulled into a parking space.

"They don't really asked questions, most of the managers are aware of magic and they know to keep their mouths shut," Harry nodded in understanding, no questions would be good.

Setting up a bank account was relatively painless – and no questions asked beyond the normal. Harry left the bank with print offs of his account details and balance – which still made him choke on his tongue when he saw it, a promise of sending his bankcards to the hotel within a week and roughly ten thousand in exchanged cash.

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When Harry got back to the hotel he stripped off and curled up under the covers and quietly started crying until he fell asleep for the next twenty hours, the stress of the last few days getting too much for him. His body and mind took the time to refresh and rejuvenate, his mind slowly cataloguing Greyback's memories as they came to him.

Harry woke to find his mailbox's runes glowing in steady pulses. He groaned as he pulled it out of his backpack and opened it to find several letters inside, Harry winced as he pulled out seven letters and the last two days papers, he put them on the desk and eyed them silently for long moments before he shoved them in one of the draws and stepped away from the desk. He had things to do today.

Harry pulled some clean clothes out of his bag and headed into the bathroom with a sigh, a quick shower and the usual hygiene spells and Harry was ready for the day. He put his mailbox back in his bag and swung the backpack over his shoulder, making sure his keycard was in his jeans pocket and then he was off, he was going exploring.

He spent the day taking several tours and getting used to the ramp up his senses had gotten, getting the occasional memory from Greyback as the day went on. When the sun started to set Harry caught a taxi back to the hotel that the government was paying for and ordered room service as he unpacked the souvenirs he's brought during the day, including a copy of the Declaration of Independence and a large map of America. He also brought a laptop computer, two spare batteries for it, a iPod and a stack of iTunes gift cards, both of which he had charging.

After a quick shower Harry looked at his shoulder in the mirror of the brightly lit bathroom, he ran exploring fingers over the pink scar tissue. _More like a dog bite than a human one,_ Harry thought to himself as he stared at it before starting when there was a knock on the door. He pulled on a shirt and made his way to the door to find his food had arrived, he gave the young man a twenty dollar tip and savoured the food as he ate the pasta dish with enjoyment.

Once he was finished with dinner he stacked the dishes onto the trolley they came on and wheeled it outside the door to his room. With that done Harry used a mild sticking charm to attach the map to one of the walls and pulled out two packs of darts from his bag. Harry closed his eyes, took a steadying breath and quickly tossed the six darts at the map with his eyes still closed, he smiled quietly to himself before opening his eyes.

He took in the where the darts had stuck into the map and pulled open his laptop and set about researching the places speared by the darts using the hotel's wireless connection. St Louis, New York, Las Vegas, Detroit, middle of nowhere New Mexico, Los Angeles. Harry hummed to himself as he researched them, ruling out both New Mexico and Las Vegas quickly, he was _not_ interested in living in the middle of a desert and most of Vegas's attractions were closed to him until he was twenty-one.

Detroit sounded less and less appealing as he read more about the city. St Louis, New York, Los Angeles… He'd have to visit them before he made up his mind but he liked the thought of L.A. and its warmth and beaches… with that in mind Harry clicked out of his current tabs and set about setting up his iTunes account and downloading music he liked. On a whim he typed in the Weird Sisters and blinked when he found four albums, he grinned to himself and downloaded them too. By the time he was ready to sleep Harry had a decent music library started and loaded on his iPod, he fell asleep to the sound of Matchbox Twenty playing through his laptop's speakers.

The next morning Harry woke up to find that he no longer needed glasses and found himself doing a happy dance around his room, laughing brightly Harry pulled the darts out of the wall and unstuck the map. He got dressed in dark jeans and a green t-shirt, shoved his feet into a pair of black Converse sneakers and ran his brush through his shaggy, long hair, the personal hygiene spells applied almost absently and then he was swinging his backpack over his shoulder and stuffing the earbuds in his ears as he nearly bounced down to where the breakfast buffet was being held on the ground floor of the hotel. He cheerfully greeted the other guests and hotel workers, wishing them a good morning before serving himself up a plate of crispy bacon, scrambled eggs and toast and finding a small table to eat at. He ended up going back for a large bowl of cut summer fruits before grabbing two of the free bottles of water and leaving the hotel to sightsee for the day.

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Harry ignored the letters sitting on his desk for two days before he forced himself to read them. He picked up the one addressed in Dumbledore's loopy hand writing and brought it to his bed where he lay down and with great trepidation he opened the envelope, took note of the list of tracking spells and the portkey that had been on the letter (listed on back of the envelope) and unfolded the parchment inside.

_'Dear Harry,_

_My boy I am so sorry for what happened to you but you should not have run away like you did._

_Why did you not come to me first? It was reckless and careless that you ran away from Remus the way you did. It was actions such as these that led to Sirius's death, Harry and I would have thought you had learned better now…_

_Please Harry, tell me where you are so that I can arrange for you to be collected and brought to Hogwarts for safe keeping. It is not safe for you out there alone with Voldemort and his Deatheaters after you. Professor Snape has graciously agreed to brew you the Wolfsbane potion without charge, so you need not worry about that._

_Your friends miss you terribly and are very worried for you, Harry. _

_Yours sincerely,_

_Albus Brian Wulfic Percival Dumbledore _

_Headmaster of Hogwarts, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot'_

Harry dropped the letter, buried his face in his pillow and _screamed_ into it. How dare that meddling old bastard try to manipulate him like that? Well fuck him and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry was done with them.

Harry kept his face buried in the pillow for a while longer before lurching out of his bed striding into the bathroom, he felt dirty just reading Dumbledore's letter. Twenty minutes later Harry was out of the hotel's bathroom and scrubbing a towel through his hair as he walked back into the main room. Harry adjusted the towel around his waist and took a seat at the desk, he picked up his pen and pulled his notebook in front of him, it took him three letters before Harry had one he was happy to send back.

_'Mr Dumbledore,_

_While it is regrettable that I was changed against my will I'm actually quite enjoying being a werewolf so far, the added strength, speed, agility and enhanced senses are really something. Granted I haven't been through a full moon yet but I've got faith that I can get through it. And as a bonus I woke up today and discovered I no longer needed my glasses._

_My leaving was not reckless nor was it ill advised._

_I've see the way the British Wizarding world treats its werewolves and given how I was treated in my second year at Hogwarts just for speaking to a snake and during my forth year for being entered into the Triwizard against my will and not to mention the slander, lies and discrimination I was forced to endure last year… well I fully expect that the general consensus is that I'm 'Dark', evil, joining Voldemort and a danger to everyone around me. _

_I didn't come to you because I didn't – and still don't – think you could help me._

_I'm a werewolf now, that won't change, it can't change and even if it could be reversed I don't want it to be. I am content with who I am. With what I am._

_I refuse to hate what I've become._

_Because of the laws drafted by the Umbitch and others before her I cannot continue at Hogwarts, neither can I own property, have a job, be served in public, have children or marry. All these things are punishable by either a hefty fine, prison time or death._

_…yeah…_

_I won't be returning to your biased and backwoods country._

_I don't believe in prophecy, I don't believe in destiny. I believe that actions have consequences, I believe that we choose how we live the lives we lead._

_I'm choosing to live the best life I can for myself. _

_And as such I'm letting you know that I will not be replying to you again Mr Dumbledore._

_I hope that you defeat Voldemort quickly, I have every faith in you and the Aurors and your Order of the Phoenix._

_Best of luck,_

_Harry J. Potter'_

Harry sealed in into an envelope, addressed it and tossed it in his mailbox. He shivered as a droplet of water made its way down his back and he used the towel around his shoulders to dry his back off as he decided to get the rest of the letters over and done with. He opened the one from Ron with some trepidation.

_'Dear Harry,_

_Couldn't believe when I was told about you getting bitten by Greyback mate. It sucks. Dumbledore sent one of the Order members to ask us if we knew where you'd gone or if you had plans for if something like this happened… Told him 'no' which is the truth, didn't tell him I had it narrowed down to four countries, three if you didn't want to learn a new language…_

_I'm not asking where you are and until there's either a cure for lycanthropy or Britain changes the laws I don't want to know, ok?_

_Just tell me you're out of the country and safe? Please?_

_Mum might send you a howler for worrying her and not trusting Dumbledore to keep you safe but I think you did the right thing. You wouldn't be safe here._

_The twins agree with me but Ginny just keeps crying… I asked her why and she said that she couldn't marry you now because you're a werewolf. I nearly hexed her and I shouted that it wasn't like she had a chance before you got bitten._

_Anyway make sure you don't write anything that could be used to track you down._

_Miss you mate,_

_Ron'_

Harry felt a lump in his throat, maybe Ron was a better friend than he'd thought, he opened Hermione's next.

_'Dear Harry,_

_Oh Harry I'm so sorry this happened to you. Tonks came to talk to me that morning about if I knew where you were and Harry I'm really glad I don't because I think I would have told her out of shock. _

_The last year has really made me think about how I react to adults who have authority over me… I don't think I like the way I just bow down to them, especially after last summer. I was wrong not to write to you. _

_I remember all that research we did on werewolves back when we worked out that Pro- Mr- Lupin was one. You were right to leave, Harry. Werewolves are even more discriminated against here than Muggleborns._

_Please don't write me anything that could be used to track you down as I expect that Ron's and my mail will be monitored by Dumbledore. I would like to know what it's like to be a werewolf if you wouldn't mind telling me and I hope you're continuing on with school in someway even if it's not in a formal setting._

_Be careful Harry,_

_Love your friend,_

_Hermione'_

"Oh," Harry said to himself quietly. "I didn't expect either of them to choose me like this," He felt guilty about his less than charitable thoughts before he was bitten and his assumption that they'd choose Dumbledore over him again. Harry pulled the next one to him, the twins.

_'Dearest partner,_

_We're sorry you got turned without your permission but we've been penpals with a boy we knew since our first year and he says that being a lycan (apparently those who embrace it are lycans – not werewolves – and once you accept and embrace it you're practically immortal and have full control of yourself) is actually the best thing that has ever happened to him._

_Michael is living in Canada with his family now so if you're heading that way we can give you his phone number so you can talk to him about it. We're thinking of asking to be turned in a few years but since it's not something we can take back after we're still thinking about it…_

_We're glad you ran Harry, it's not safe here for you and we like you too much to want to see some bigoted moron kill you for being what you are now._

_Good luck Harrikins and we hope to see you again one day._

_Gred and Forge'_

Harry thought about that for a while before moving onto the next one – Ginny. He winced as he read it, it was full of teary regrets and rants about how it was all his fault that he was a werewolf now… Harry shredded it and shuddered at the thought that if things had been different he might have been forced to marry her one day. The next letter was from Luna.

_'Hello Harry,_

_The nargles told me what happened and I'm glad to congratulate you on your transformation. I understand that it wasn't a gentle change but you will be better off now. Within a year I expect you to be happy with your new family and would like to ask you keep a space open for me to join your family as a sister in two and a half years._

_Congratulations again Harry,_

_Love your soon to be sister,_

_Luna'_

Harry paused at that and carefully put the letter aside, Luna was asking him to turn her when she was eighteen and she thought he'd have a 'family' within a year. "Huh," He said quietly running a hand through his damp hair before moving onto the last letter.

_'Dear Harry,_

_I'm sorry about you getting bitten but I'm really glad you managed to escape with your life. I hope you've made it out of the country by now and I have to tell you that Moody is looking for you. _

_He asked me where I thought you might be and I basically told him to bugger off. _

_Stay safe Harry,_

_Neville Longbottom'_

He smiled at the letter and got started on his replies, starting with a letter to his old account manager.

_'Account Manager Orac,_

_Although I am no longer your client or a client of Gringotts I would be grateful if you would suggest someone here in America who could do as good a job as you did with managing and growing my money._

_Thankyou for your consideration,_

_Harry Potter'_

Harry made a copy of it and put the original in his mailbox and sent it off before moving onto his friends.

_'Dear Ron,_

_I'm sorry I couldn't say goodbye but after I was bitten by Greyback I had to leave straight away or I wouldn't have been able to escape at all. _

_Thanks for the letter mate, I'm going to miss you. You were my first friend you know?_

_Being a werewolf isn't too bad actually… my appetite is much bigger now (about the same as your normal one, ha ha) but my senses have gone through the roof and yesterday I woke up and no longer needed my glasses! How awesome is that?!_

_I'm out of the country and safe, new identity and all and my mail is going through a Gringotts box so I can't be tracked through the mail._

_ Tell your mum and dad thanks for all they did for me and make Snape's and Malfoy's lives a living hell for me when school gets back. You and Hermione better stick together and I hope you keep the DA going… only maybe the name should be 'Defence Association'?_

_I hope you like the gift I left you, it was going to be your Christmas present but now it's more of a don't-forget-me gift. You should be getting it soon._

_Anyway take care of yourself Ron and don't do anything stupid, you had better live a long and wonderful life!_

_Your friend,_

_Harry_

_p.s I was wondering if you wanted to start a long distance chess game? Could be interesting…'_

Harry copied it, put it in an envelope and addressed it before dropping it in his mailbox and started his letter to Hermione.

_'Dear Hermione,_

_I'm sorry I couldn't say goodbye but you know I couldn't stay, not with the way Britain treats its werewolves and given how badly people reacted to me speaking to snakes? They would have killed me before too long. _

_Thankyou for the support Hermione, it means a lot to me._

_Hermione… I know you don't want to hear this but given that you have the distinction of being both a Muggleborn and one of my friends you'll be targeted. I think you should consider leaving the country or at least organising wards for your parents house. Gringotts offers this for roughly a hundred galleons, which is just over two thousand pounds but it could save you life one day! And if you're worried about your mail I suggest asking about a Gringotts mailbox, I got a major discount for returning all the goblin made items in my vault so I'm not sure how much it costs but they cancel all spells, poisons, potions and portkeys and all your mail is completely private…_

_Anyway I hope you like your 'don't-forget-me' present, which you'll be getting soon and I'll be happy to tell you what its like to become a werewolf. So far my senses have sky rocketed, my appetite could now rival Ron's and I woke up yesterday to find I no longer need my glasses!_

_Good luck for the upcoming school year and best of luck for your exams, I'm planning on hiring a tutor for magical and mundane subjects, I don't want to be forced to live in only one world._

_You and Ron better stick together and I hope you keep the DA going… only maybe the name should be 'Defence Association'?_

_Your friend,_

_Harry'_

He copied that one too, addressed it and tossed it in the box before moving onto the others.

_'Dear Luna, _

_Thankyou for all the help you gave me last year, you were a very good friend and I love your creativity. I'm sorry I couldn't say goodbye before I fled but you understand why I couldn't stay. _

_I hope you like your 'don't-forget-me' gift which you'll get soon and of all the people I know I think you would make the best use of one of my heirlooms. It's called the Marauders Map and my father and his friends made it when they were in school. To activate it simply tap it with your wand and say "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good" to close it tap it again and say "Mischief Managed". Please share it with Ron and Hermione when they need it and play a few pranks on people ok?_

_I'm going to miss you Luna but I look forward to having you as my sister in a couple of years… I'm sure you'll be able to find me on your own. _

_If it wouldn't bother you would you mind being my penpal? In case you haven't heard the term it would mean we'd write to each other regularly._

_Anyway, good luck with your OWLs and keep safe and I'll let you know when I meet my new family,_

_Your soon to be brother,_

_Harry'_

**_'Dear Devil Twins,_**

**_Thanks for telling me about your friend and I'll let you know what I think of being a werewolf (give me time), so far I like it though… it fixed my glasses!_**

**_I hope you like the 'don't-forget-me' gift you'll be getting soon and I hope you give the Deatheaters hell. I'm sorry I couldn't say goodbye but you know how the Wizarding world treats werewolves, I couldn't stay. _**

**_I've given Luna the Marauders Map and I was wondering if you could send her some of your more interesting pranks? She's very creative and who would think of Luna when looking for a prankster?_**

**_Take care boys and keep each other safe,_**

**_Your friend,_**

**_Harry'_**

_'Dear Neville,_

_Thankyou for the help you've given me over out time at Hogwarts and especially the last year. You're a hell of a wizard Neville and I'm proud I got to call you my friend, I'm just sorry I wasn't a better one over the years. I hope you like your 'don't-forget-me' gift which you'll be getting soon. I'm sorry I couldn't say goodbye but you know how the wizarding world treats werewolves._

_I'm going to miss you Neville. Would you do me a favour and keep an eye on Luna? Do your best to stop the Ravenclaws from bullying her? Thanks Nev._

_If you want to write to me I promise I'll write back but it might take me a while._

_Anyway look after yourself and I hope that you get your vengeance._

_Your friend,_

_Harry'_

**_'Dear Ginny,_**

**_I'm sorry I couldn't say goodbye before I left but I just wanted to say thankyou for your help at the Ministry._**

**_Good luck with your OWLs this year._**

**_Harry'_**

Harry made a copy of each of them before addressing the envelopes, slipped the letter in and in Luna's case the Map and dropped them in the post box, watching them disappear in a flash of light as the lid closed. He pulled another sheet of paper to him and pause with his pen ready to write, Harry shook himself and forced his pen to the paper.

_'Professor McGonagall,_

_I'm withdrawing from Hogwarts._

_Thankyou for all the support you've given me over the years but as I was bitten by Greyback during this summer I cannot return to Hogwarts, nor can I stay in Britain if I want to be treated like a human being. _

_I don't require a copy of my school records as I will be hiring tutors and taking the International Preliminary Standards Exam when my tutors feel I'm ready for it. _

_Given that my Firebolt is probably still chained in the dungeons I'd like to give it to the Gryffindor House Team, to be used by the Seeker, the broom is not to be given to the current Seeker but to be used by whoever holds the position for as long as the broom lasts._

_Anyway, I hope you're healing well and that Gryffindor wins the Quidditch Cup,_

_Harry J. Potter'_

Harry sent that letter off too before putting down his pen, he stood and was about to leave his desk when a thought occurred to him and he sat back down, picking up the pen as he did.

_'Aunt Petunia,_

_As you've realised by now I've left your home. _

_For good. _

_I'm sorry if you've been harassed by the wizards and witches that follow Albus Dumbledore blindly but the morning I left I was bitten by a werewolf at the park that Dudley routinely vandalises. I left as soon as I packed the things I was taking with me._

_I don't consider you family. You are my mother's sister and I'd like to think that if things had been reversed my parents would have taken Dudley in and treated him as their own. _

_You and your husband while trying to be 'normal' became child abusers and I hate you for it. _

_Until I started primary school I didn't know I had a name, I thought it was 'Freak' or 'Boy'… I lived in the cupboard under the stairs instead of in one of the two spare rooms you had… I often went days without food… I have scars from the beatings from Uncle Vernon gave me… you used to swing hot frying pans at my head… _

_As far as I'm concerned you and your disgusting family are the 'freaks'._

_While I honestly won't grieve when you die I feel the need to give you this warning._

_If I were you, I'd move far, far away._

_There is a war happening Aunt Petunia and it's highly likely that you and your family will be targeted. If you and Uncle Vernon love your son, you'll move. _

_Goodbye Aunt Petunia, I won't miss you and if there is any … rightness in the world I'll never see you again._

_Your nephew,_

_Harry J. Potter'_

Feeling lighter Harry sent that letter off too and relaxed in his chair; it felt good to get his letter writing over with and to know that his friends agreed with his choice. Harry spent the day lounging on his bed and tapping away on his computer signing up for various social networks, checking out youtube and clicking any link that sounded interesting. He eventually found a website that let you download pirated music, movies, TV shows and read-aloud books, he then proceeded to download anything he could think of, turning to imdb for ideas.

He ordered dinner and kept watching his newly downloaded Criminal Minds, he liked Morgan and Reid the best out of the cast, Harry finished off the first season and the first episode of season two before he put the computer aside and fell asleep.

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Harry followed the tour guide through the White House and memorised everything she said, he'd chosen the tour as a spur of the moment discission and was surprised to find he actually enjoyed it. When the tour finished Harry collected some souvenirs including a snow globe with a miniature White House in it and a couple of other things.

He had lunch at a quiet café and found himself people watching for a while as he listened to music and flicked through the _Magical Directory – North American Edition 2013. _He found the Washington, DC section and read it over, he looked at the city map with the highlighted Magical District and found the street he was currently on. "Huh," He said to himself as he noted how far it was, Harry debated walking but decided to get a taxi there instead. He paid the taxi driver and following the map in his book he ducked into an alley that no one was paying any attention to and could feel the strength of the wards once he was five meters inside the alley, another two metres and he was suddenly in a well lit and covered street.

Harry snagged a passing woman and gave her a shy smile. "Excuse me, I'm looking for a wandmaker? Mine got broken yesterday,"

"Oh you poor thing," She winced for him. "Was it your original one?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, ma'am and I feel naked without it,"

She checked her watch briefly before nodding to herself. "I've got time to show you there, come with me,"

"Thankyou ma'am," Harry told her gratefully as he followed her across the street and down two more before she left him outside a shop that was the opposite of Olivander's. Harry walked inside to find it bright, well lit, not a speck of dust and the wands in display cases not on bookshelves. The friendly looking woman behind the counter was also a nice difference from the creepy old man.

"Hello, a late bloomer?" She asked, standing and pushing her brown hair off her face.

Harry shook his head. "No ma'am, I just need a new one, my old one isn't reacting to me the same way and I want to see if I get a better result from a different wand,"

She frowned at that and held out her hand for him to shake, when Harry would have let go she held on for several seconds longer with her eyes closed before nodding understanding and opening her eyes. "Yes," She agreed. "That does happen quite often when someone becomes a lycan, was it voluntary?"

"…No, but I'm liking it so far," He said warily.

She eyed him closely before nodding again and waving him around the counter. "I'm Michelle, we'll need to make one from scratch for you,"

"Harrison," Harry replied, surprised that it felt natural to do so. "How could you tell?"

Michelle smiled over her shoulder as she led him into the back workshop. "As a wandmaker I'm much more in tune with magic than most Magicals and lycans all feel… like there is something wild in their core,"

"Huh," Harry said and took the seat she waved him to, bringing out a bundle of sticks which she spread across the table and grabbing several wooden boxes placing them on the side of the table.

"Run your hand about an inch over them, pick out any which feel right," Michelle instructed, Harry did so and paused over four different woods. Michelle packed the others up and had him run his hand over them again, three felt more _right_ than the fourth and she smiled widely at him. "Interesting, I've only made one other wand with three woods in it," She put them to the side and emptied a box of feathers onto the tabletop, Harry repeated the action pulling out a beautiful, long, blue/green feather just shorter than his forearm. "Tail feather of an Augury, a storm bird," None of the other feathers called to him and they were about to move on when Fawkes flashed in overhead and landed on the table. "A phoenix," Michelle breathed out awed by the sight.

Harry just felt his heart leap up into his throat but calmed when Fawkes cooed at him and rubbed his head against Harry's shoulder, the one he had been bitten on. "Hello Fawkes," He said awkwardly and the phoenix trilled happily at him before turning around and shaking his tail feathers out until three fell out, he turned around again and eyed the three red/gold feathers. Fawkes picked up one of them in his beak and passed it to Harry with a happy trill, the second was placed over the Augury's tail feather and the third he hopped across the table to pass to Michelle. He hopped back over to Harry and stretched out his neck to preen Harry hair for a moment before disappearing in a burst of flame.

"…In all my years I've never witnessed anything like that," Michelle said after a long moment in silence and Harry looked at her startled by the break in the silence. "Don't worry though Harrison, while I might tell my apprentice about this one day, I won't be telling anyone else… it's too special,"

Harry took a chance. "His feather is in my original wand and he saved my life once, I guess he wants to stay in my life somehow," His fingers played with the feather gently, despite his connection to Dumbledore Harry did like the phoenix. Very much so.

Michelle had Harry try the dragon parts to see if any reacted but none did, next were unicorn hairs and then an assortment of other magical creature parts but none of them felt like they belonged with Harry so they moved on. Michelle tipped a bag of sparkling gems onto the table and Harry passed his hand over them in a now familiar gesture, plucking out five that reacted to him, a second go over them had him discarding two of them.

"Very interesting, do you know what you have chosen?" She asked and Harry shook his head. "Moonstone, emerald and a black opal, the woods that reacted to you? Ebony, hazel and cherry," Michelle smiled warmly at him. "You'll do interesting things with your life," Harry paused hearing an echo of Olivander _'We can expect great things from you Mr Potter after all the Dark Lord did great things, terrible yes, but great'_, he wasn't sure he like being told that. "It will take a day to craft this, come back before close tomorrow,"

Harry nodded and stood, carefully storing the feather in his bag. "How much will it be?"

"Three hundred and seventy five dollars,"

"Do you want me to pay now or tomorrow?" Harry asked as they walked back into the main room of the shop.

"Tomorrow is fine," Harry gave her a smile and left the shop, he spent the rest of the day wandering around the Magical District, buying several things that caught his eye including a new watch, dragon hide wallet and several sets of clothes with comfort and cooling charms on them. Harry caught a taxi back to the hotel and as he was passing the front desk one of the concierges stopped him.

"Mr Jones?" He said politely, catching Harry's attention. "A letter came for you today," He said offering the teen the thick envelope with his new bank's emblem in the corner.

Harry grinned happily at the man. "Thanks, have you had a good day?"

The concierge looked slightly bemused but nodded, giving Harry a small but genuine smile. "Yes, it's been a good day and yours?"

"Yeah," Harry grinned. "Today has been great," He tore open the envelope as he entered the elevator hearing faintly behind him – _"Now why can't everyone who stays here be as cheerful and polite as that boy?"_ and smiled to himself as the door closed and he pressed the button for his level. He pulled three cards out of envelope and studied them, one was black with a golden centurion in one corner, the bank's logo in another, his name and card number embossed on the front also in gold; the second was a pearlescent white with the bank's logo on it with black lettering; the third was a pearlescent bottle green and had silver writing.

Harry opened the door to his room and pulled the letter from the bank out of the envelope, he kicked the door closed behind him and read over the letter from the bank manager. The green one was his debit card, directly connected to his bank account; the black one was a Centurion credit card (only the richest in the world had one, it was a status symbol); the white one was also a credit card but much more low key than the black one. Harry slipped the cards into his new wallet – complete with very strong anti-theft charms – and moved his other cards from his old wallet into the new one as well as his cash.

He flopped onto the comfortable bed and gave a content smile. Who would have thought that being bitten by the British Wizarding world's most hated and despised monster would be the best thing that had ever happened to him?

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Harry picked up his new wand after lunch the next day and felt warmth course through his as his magic rushed through him. The wand itself was a beautiful piece of craftsmanship; it was ten inches long, the three different woods twirled around each other in a spiral, the three precious stones were also a twirled together in a spiral set in the base of the wand.

With his new wand in its holster and his old one shoved in his bag Harry spent an hour wandering the Magical District before he decided to go back to his hotel.

Once he was back in his room the teenager pulled out his old wand and stared at it for a long time in silence. Eventually he sat back in his seat and gripped the wand tightly at each end, with one decisive motion he snapped the slender length of wood between his hands. It broke with a loud crack and the echo of a phoenix's song. Harry stared down at the two pieces of wood in his hands and he dropped them onto the desk, rubbing a shaking hand through his hair he sighed and left the ex-wand on his desk.

After a while of just laying on the bed in silence Harry pulled his mailbox out of his bag and pulled out a stack of letters and several copies of the Daily Prophet. A glance at the latest one was all he needed to see.

**_Harry Potter Becomes Werewolf! Dark Lord's Strike Against The Light! Where Is Harry Potter Now? Does This Mean The Boy-Who-Lived Is Now Dark?_**

Harry sighed and threw the newspaper across the room. He pulled over a letter instead and opened it.

_'Dear Harry,_

_I'm glad you made it out ok and awesome news about your glasses!_

_Ginny told Mum about getting a note from you and then mum tore through my room to find the one I got from you so it's a really good thing that you didn't write anything that was too important. _

_Harry… Mate… I now own 40% of the Chuddley Cannons?! I have to tell you that I just stared at the notice from Gringotts for a long time when I got it._

_Do you get what you've given me mate? Before this my chances of work after Hogwarts were pretty dim really, it was either get a job under dad at the Ministry or beg the twins for a job once they get set up properly with their joke shop… Harry, this gives me __options. __This means a lot to me mate._

_And I got to see the twins speechless when they found out they had 30% of Zonko's and you'd given then your shares of their business._

_Ginny bitched that you hadn't given her anything and I told her that was because you were our friend. Not hers. Mum's got me doing all Ginny's chores for saying that but it's true isn't it?_

_Bill and Charlie have layered the Burrow in wards including some lethal ones for any who mean harm to the family. Bill's trying to convince mum to let him put the house under the Fidelius but she says no so far which I think is stupid… I sent Bill and Charlie over to Hermione's and they warded her place too which is a real relief to me._

_About the D.A., I agree with you about the name change and was thinking that maybe you could help us come up with a list of spells to practice? I've decided that I'm going to get everyone in the group to get a Patronus going by the Christmas holidays. I'm also thinking that quick and nasty spells are the way to go, that way we can do a lot of damage and then run away to survive another day. What do you think?_

_Also a long distance chess game sounds great! Do you mind if I play black? It's how we usually play and I think it feels right to play it that way._

_Anyway I have to send this off with the twins' letter, if I send it with Errol Mum'll read it… can you send the next letter via the twins? They said that was ok until school goes back and then Hermione said you could send it through her._

_Be safe mate,_

_Ron'_

Harry smiled helplessly at the letter and pulled the next letter to him.

_'Dear Harry,_

_Congratulations on not needing glasses anymore! You must have been so happy J _

_Thanks for the advice Harry but the day after I got your letter Ron sent his two oldest brothers over and they set up wards all over our house. I got a mailbox yesterday, I asked Bill about them (He works for Gringotts) and he gave me a price for it, it turned out cheaper if I paid for a long term rental, so I paid for ten years which cost three hundred pounds… so it was actually cheaper than if I got a muggle one for the same amount of time! _

_I've talked it over with mum and dad about leaving the country if things get really bad here but they don't want to listen, so I'll spending this year thinking about it… I'm seventeen this September Harry, I could choose not to go to Hogwarts next year, take my NEWTs early or later or just skip them and study for the International Standards tests… we'll have to wait and see._

_But if I do leave then I'm thinking of going to Australia… I've been there before and I loved it but my choice is fifteen months away…_

_Thankyou for the gift Harry, owning that much stock in the Daily Prophet is generating me a nice income, most of which I'm putting away so I'll have something to live on either way this turns out… I'm also funnelling money out of Mum and Dad's bank account… they don't even miss it._

_Ron and I had a brief discussion about the D.A. and we agree to keep it going and change the name. Any spells or ideas you recommend would be wonderful._

_…Don't isolate yourself._

_I know you Harry Potter. I know what you're like and I know that before you got our first letters you must have been thinking the worst of us… and I don't blame you. You don't trust easily and regaining your trust after losing it is hard._

_Find some good friends, be they werewolves, vampires, goblins, wizards, muggles or whatever… and __live_,_ enjoy your life._

_Love Hermione'_

Harry re-read it three times before putting it aside and reaching for the next one pausing for a moment as a thought occurred to him, house elves would help protect them too… something to think on anyway.

_'Dear former-partner,_

_We were stunned speechless when we got the letter from Gringotts. Thankyou Harry, we appreciate it, with this and what we've earned so far we have enough to get an apartment for ourselves, we haven't yet but we will soon we think._

_Congratulations on your eyes! Very cool for you._

_When Ginny told mum she got a letter from you, mum ripped Ron's room apart to find his. We told her that you didn't write back to us and we have your letter hidden somewhere safe. We read the note you sent Ginny… nicely played._

_We'll send Luna some goodies for you, it'll be interesting to see what she does._

_We have to send this off before mum finds out._

_Good Luck,_

_Forge and Gred'_

He really did like the twins, the next letter was from Ginny and Harry tossed it without reading it, he wasn't interested in what she had to say, the one after that was from Neville.

_'Dear Harry,_

_Thankyou for the gift. I had a look at the plant store earlier today and brought a couple of new plants for myself._

_I think both of us could have tried harder to be better friends but the last two I felt I could really call you my friend and I'd love to write to you when we both have time._

_I'll keep an eye on Luna for you, I'll make sure she's safe._

_I'm really glad you got out of the country as soon as you did._

_Best of wishes,_

_Neville'_

Harry grabbed the next envelope and noticed Dumbledore's handwriting on it, he rolled his eyes and put it aside, he'd read it last.

_'Hello Brother,_

_Thankyou for the gifts, they were very thoughtful. _

_Congratulations on your eyes correcting themselves and your new wand, it's very pretty._

_Since we're going to be family may I ask you questions in our letters? And don't worry, yes I have a Gringotts mailbox._

_I think I'll turn Dumbledore's beard into worms as my first prank…_

_Your Sister,_

_Luna'_

Harry pulled out the binder with the letter he'd already received and sent and flicked to Luna's section, he read his reply to her last letter and there was no mention of his eyes in it and seeing as he'd only got his new wand today… Yeah, Luna was definitely some sort of seer.

_'Mr Potter,_

_I'm sorry to hear of your misfortune and that you're leaving Hogwarts two years early. _

_I am glad to hear that you are planning on continuing your schooling and have a plan to do so._

_I agree with your wishes about your Firebolt and the idea that it is to be used by all Gryffindor seekers, not just one._

_Thankyou Mr Potter I am healing quite well._

_Good luck with your new life Mr Potter._

_Minerva McGonagall_

_p.s. Although it is not my place to say this, I do believe you made the right discission about leaving for a more… enlightened place.'_

Stuffy but kind, Harry decided, that was what she was, stuffy but kind.

_'HARRY POTTER!_

_HOW DARE YOU RUN OFF LIKE THIS! WE'RE ALL WORRIED SICK -.'_

Harry stopped reading and checked the back of the envelope it came in… yes it had a Howler charm on it as well as a tracking spell, he put it aside, Mrs Weasley could wait.

_'Mr Potter,_

_I suggest a very clever wizard named Jonathan Nichols, who is based in the city of New York. His work address is (dfghjkjhgfdfgh). I suggest confidentiality and secrecy oaths before you discuss business. _

_Account Manager Orac'_

Harry smiled and put that one separate from the other letters.

_'Mr Potter,_

_We understand that you were infected by a werewolf and would love it if you would be willing to do an interview with us._

_The Daily Prophet'_

He rolled his eyes but put it aside to think about it. He flicked through the other letters and was surprised to find letters from the D.A. and a few members of the public – all positive. And then Harry remembered Orac saying something about hate mail and how they weeded it out. Finally he pulled Dumbledore's letter to him.

_'Dear Harry,_

_I'm sorry you feel that way about my ability to keep you safe, it saddens me that you feel that way. I'm glad that you are making the best of your situation but regardless you should have come to me when this tragedy happened… I can still help you Harry, we can help you contain the monster inside you._

_My boy I must caution you about giving the monster growing inside you free reign. It will seek nothing but destruction of everything around you as it grows stronger with everyday closer to the moon you spend away from England and my help._

_It was cruel of you to evict us from 12 Grimmauld Place without any warning Harry, if you had spoken to me about it before you made the rash discission to sell all your properties I would have organised to buy it off you privately… I fear this is one aspect of the monster inside you that you are beginning to show…_

_It is not safe for you to be contacting your friends while we don't know where you are… you could be putting them in danger._

_Please Harry, let me help you. I will organise for the Order and Severus to teach you magic, there are hidden rooms in Hogwarts you could stay in… I'm sure that the werewolf laws will be revoked sooner than later. You are still very helpful in the war against Voldemort._

_Best regards,_

_Albus (too many names and bloody titles to write again)'_

"Thrice cursed manipulative motherfucker!" Harry screamed into his pillow, he wasn't turning into a monster! He wasn't! It had just been the smart thing to do to sell off all the properties.

Harry shook his head and downed a vial of Dreamless Sleep that he'd brought from a pre-made potion shop. He'd deal with it in the morning.


End file.
